IPL 2021: Focus On Openers As KKR Meet Delhi Capitals In Qualifier 2

After a comprehensive win over Royal Challengers Bangalore, two times champion Kolkata Knight Riders will lock horns with Delhi Capitals in the Qualifier 2 of the IPL 2021, here on Wednesday. Wednesda

Delhi Capitals, on the other hand, continued their impressive show from India to UAE and topped the league stage with 20 points. But after their defeat to Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 1, chinks seem to have emerged in their line-up.

In the absence of Marcus Stoinis, their balance looks compromised, while R Ashwin and Rabada's bowling form is a concern for them. DC drafted Tom Curran in place of Ripal Patel in Qualifier 1 and he is likely to play against KKR if Stoinis remains unavailable.

Their openers Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan will look to continue their good batting form but Shreyas Iyer will have to come good for DC with the bat in the crucial match. Iyer is known for attacking spinners and it will be a battle to watch out for against Narine and Chakravarthy.

The chasing teams have won five out of seven games in Sharjah in IPL 2021. Moreover, four of Capitals' five losses this season have come while batting first, while Knight Riders have won on all five occasions when chasing during the UAE leg of the tournament. So it will not be a surprise if both teams are looking to bowl first.

Squads:

Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (C) (W), Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Mishra, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan, Axar Patel, Chris Woakes, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Lalit Yadav, Marcus Stoinis, Pravin Dubey, Prithvi Shaw, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Shimron Hetmyer, Shreyas Iyer, Steve Smith, Umesh Yadav, Ripal Patel, Vishnu Vinod, Lukman Meriwala, M Siddharth, Tom Curran, Sam Billings, Ben Dwarshuis, Kulwant Khejroliya

Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (C), Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik (W), Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna, Rahul Tripathi, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Tim Seifert, Varun Chakravarthy, Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Karun Nair, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer, Pawan Negi, Gurkeerat Mann Singh, Tim Southee